better together
by shugotenshii
Summary: Because it's so hard to fall in love with the person who's been a jerk to you since day one. sorariku. roxasseifer eventual roxasaxel plus others.
1. where'd all the good people go?

**Yes, I know I should be working on sweet talk 1o1. And I am. Like. Right now. I swear. You just can't see it. Next chapter will be up soon. I just typed this up quickly because I got bored and needed a giggle. So I hope you like it. :) Will be multi-chap.**

**Disclaimer****: Don't own kh... or ff... It makes me sad. Title belongs to jack johnson because i was listening to that song while writing this and it fit. Chapter titles are lyrics, also belonging to jack johnson**

**Enjoi.**

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x.x.x

**. b e t t e r t o g e t h e r .**

_.where'd all the good people go?._

.x.

Hello. My name is Sora. Or, y'know, Sora Leonhart if you wanna get all technical about it.

So, anyway, I have a story for you. One that I hope you'll be interested in hearing. Because I don't really have anyone else to tell this story to. No, I am not a lonely git. Basically, since the moment we had first met, my jerk of a 'best friend' royally screwed with my life. It's not a fun thing to go over because no matter how much you want to, you can never seem to get away from these people. They will _hunt you down_, the little fuckers, just to screw you over. Fun, right?

Um. No.

Especially when you end up falling in love with said jerk.

Yes, shut up, I know it's fucking cliché. What's _not_ cliche is how damn _painful it was_. Imagine pulling teeth. That's what it's like being with him. Well.. that's what it _was_ like, I should say.

And yes. Him. Fuck you, you homophobes. The world doesn't need more of you, and I don't want to deal with your shit at the moment.

...Alright, so let's start this story from the beginning.

_-"It's a boy! And... another boy!"_

Whoa, _hey_, not _that_ far into the beginning!

...On second thought, what the hell. Since you and I are going to be getting down on a personal level here, might as well start from the, well, beginning.

_"Twins! We have __**twins**__, can you believe that?!"_

Honestly, it must be every girl's dream to have twins when she becomes a mother. I, personally, don't see the point. The whole thing is just a headache just waiting to happen. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother and all but...

_"Oh my god, Squall, we lost Sora!"_

_"...No, Sora is right here, we lost Roxas."_

_"Are you blind?! This __**is**__ Roxas!"_

_"Rinoa, stop __**screa**__-"_

_"__**FIND MY BABY, GODDAMMIT!**__"_

...As it turned out, Roxas _was_ the one who had toddled off. See what I mean? The only time anyone was able to tell us apart was in middle school when I finally decided to dye my hair a darker shade of brown. I _refused_ to be mistaken for Roxas and vice versa for the umpteenth time.

So, anyway, around the time that Roxas had decided to be an adventurous little toddler was about the same time I met my 'jerk of a best friend.' We had actually just moved to Destiny Islands (the same day we lost Roxas in the _airport,_ on the island of the same place where couples run off to fornicate and such... it wasn't fun looking for him) and a few days later I decided to leave the square security of my house and wandered down to the beach. And _that_ was when I met Riku. Oh, and Kairi, but she wasn't and still isn't a jerk. Riku on the other hand... Riku was a _Dick_. Yes. With a capital D.

He was eight, only a year older than me, cocky, stuck up, the kind of kid who would bet you his collection of wooden toy swords that he was better than you at _everything_.

I spent the rest of the day playing with them, and let me tell you, Kairi fucking _worshiped the kid._ She followed him around like a baby duck with a spork in its head. It was creepy. The whole time, Riku'd been shooting me haughty looks like _"haha she likes me more"_-

Well, _fuck you_, Riku. Fucking _fuck_ you.

The kid made the rest of my life an utter hellish competition.

Once, he pushed me off the docks and told me that if I caught a fish with my bare hands, he'd give me bragging rights for a whole week. I never did catch that fish... but my pants did. I like to think that if I really _had_ caught that fish, I'd smack Riku in the face with it. Repeatedly.

We grew up, went to middle school, blah blah blah BAM. That awful awkward thing happens to you when you come of age. Puberty. And after puberty? HIGH SCHOOL. Sweet Shiva, nobody likes the first day of highschool. And even if they say they do? They _lie_.

Now, Riku may have been a year older than me n'Kairi, but that didn't mean he was in a higher grade (higher classes? yes). When he asked Kairi out in freshman year, I swear to Jenova that they spent every living, breathing moment together. It was almost disgusting. I didn't know who I was jealous of more, Riku or Kairi. Or if I was jealous at all. Either way, I was inexplicably thrown completely out of the loop. Like and old newspaper. Last night's leftovers. The report card you don't want your parents to see-

Yeah. You get my point.

So the two, they date of course, for two years, when the unthinkable happens. DUN DUN DUN, are you ready for it? Riku leaves. For a year. Because he was put into _mental rehab_. Can you believe that shit? Riku, the perfect, better-than-everyone else, Riku.

...Well, when I put it that way, then no wonder.

Anyway, Kairi comes crawling back to me, and since I'm a forgiving guy, I welcome her back with open arms.

Unfortunately for me, tomorrow is the first day of Senior Year and Riku's coming back.

Jenova above, please _help me_.

x.x.x

I woke up next morning to the perfect first day of school scenario.

Rubbing my bleary eyes, I rolled onto my side and reached for the alarm clock. The tiny black device read 7:43 in painfully bright red letters. Doing the math in my half asleep head, I quickly figured out that Roxas and I had to be out for the bus in... seventeen minutes.

"...Shit!" I cursed, suddenly wide awake. I bolted upright, banging my fist against the thin wall that separated my room from my brother's. And let me tell you, that wall was _thin_. It was convenient for mornings like this but... inconvenient whenever Roxas brought his boyfriend over and I was trying to get some sleep. Not awkward. "Roxas! Roxas, get up! We overslept!"

The wall next to me responded with a very loud _thud_ and a perfectly clear "fuck!"

"...Y-you okay, Rox?"

"Just a little... concussion..."

I snorted and rolled out of bed, brushing my bangs out of my eyes. This was unfair. It was unjustly! I wasn't late _once_ last year. Of _course_ things would end up downright crappy the day Riku returned back to school. Of _course_ I'd end up having to share the bathroom with my brother, knocking limbs together in the shower-

"Holy Jenova, Roxas! Is that a hickey or did Seifer just _punch_ you?!"

-of _course_ I'd miss out on breakfast because mom and dad overslept-

"...Today's the first day of school?"

-but at least I managed to throw Roxas right between the bus's doors before they closed. He wasn't too happy with me after that. Would _you_ be happy with me if I grabbed you by the belt loops and _chucked_? ...Don't answer that.

I carefully made my way to the back where I could see Kairi's head of red hair, while the giant yellow metal hunk of death jostled happily up the street. She grinned when she saw me and scooted over to make some room. Honestly, her purse was the size of a grown chocobo, I practically had to sit on it.

"Nice bruise. Roxas give it to you?"

"Duh," I scoffed, pulling down the the collar of my shirt to rub at my bruised clavicle.

"If you squint, it kinda looks like a hickey."

...Wow. Perfect analogy Kairi. I didn't know I magically switched places with Roxas at some point.

"Um. No. I, unlike my brother dear, did not get this courtesy of Almasy-"

"HAHAWHAT?!"

"-I'm surprised he managed to cover it up in the first place."

"That's not disturbing."

"I _know_, right?"

I laughed and sank in my seat before Roxas could realize we were talking about him. For being such a short skinny kid (he was smaller than me even though he was my twin, and not in _that_ way) he had a mean right hook. He dislocated my jaw once when we were seven because I got the better Happy McMoogle toy in my meal. Jerk.

"Sooo," Kairi sang, wiggling a bit in her seat, "_Riku's_ coming back today!"

I found myself rolling my eyes in exasperation. Like I haven't been hearing that one all summer. "Kai, I'm pretty sure the whole bus knows. I'm pretty sure creepy Lady Malificent with the killer crows knows. I'm pretty sure the whole _island_ knows."

"Well, duh!" Kairi stuck out her tongue, giving my shoulder a shove. I nearly fell out of my seat. "I was just trying to get you excited."

"Ooooh, Kairi, I'm so excited I can't _contain_ myself."

"Please contain yourself in your pants."

"Oh. God. Wow. No. Fail."

Kairi batted her eyelashes innocently at me, but oh, I knew better. I wasn't going to buy that. Last time I did, Riku ended up dropping chocobo eggs on top of my head from her room. It took _days_ to get the eggshells out, _days_! Do you fucking _understand_ how painful those little bitches are?! Even_ without_ baby birds inside!

I sighed half-heartedly and leaned back, trying to ignore Hayner's squawks from the front of the bus.

x.x.x

The school looked the same way as it had ever since I moved here. Like a flat brick institution. ...Okay, no. I'm a liar. I have _lied_. I'm just in a bad mood. It's actually made out of very appealing granite and marble and has huge open windows, so it's not too hard to breathe in there. Anyway, I currently wanted to jump out one of those windows because standing at the top of the stairs, right in front of the entrance was-

"Riku!"

I flinched and grabbed the ear that Kairi just screamed into, trying not to get trampled as she flew past me up the stairs and into Riku's arms. Really, it was a good thing I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning because I would've upchucked it by now.

This will only be said once and I won't tell you again. I never _liked_ seeing them get all mushy. I don't know why, but it's just them. I normally don't mind PDA, but seeing it from them just... ugh. I don't know. Makes my insides squirm. And that's a lot coming from me, because I am a very affectionate person. Did you know I started a Free Hugs Day on this island? Yeah. I'm just that awesome.

I glanced over my shoulder and upon spotting Roxas and his group, I ducked out of sight and made my way over to them before Riku could see me. A year without him had been peaceful, and I wasn't about to let it all go down the proverbial drain.

Roxas grinned when he saw me, using my presence as the perfect distraction to get himself out of his Seifer-Axel-tug-of-war. Now, um, before we go any further (oh baby), let me just explain something really quick. Back in elementary school, Seifer was like the school's badass. He made it a hobby to pick on the smaller and weaker and blah blah, yo know how it goes. Well, Roxas and Hayner were his favorite by far. They'd be my favorite too if one sliced my face open and the other punched me in the eye.

Yeah. It was epic. You had to be there. He still has the scar and everything.

So this went on for a while until Axel stepped in (and everyone knows he just didn't want anyone to mess up Roxas's pretty face) and put a stop to everything. And by the time he'd grown some balls to ask Roxas out...

...Seifer had already done it.

Yeah. We're still investigating on how that even happened. I was just surprised that Axel didn't kill Seifer the first chance he got.

"What's up, did you see Riku already?" Roxas asked cheerfully, throwing an arm over my shoulders.

I rolled my eyes at his poorly timed enthusiasm (_I_ didn't have two guys fighting over me) and shook him off. "Yeah, I saw him and-"

"Ran off like a chickenwuss?" Seifer finished with a smirk, wrapping an arm around Roxas's waist and pulling him away from me. Axel didn't look happy at all. Jenova, Roxas was dense.

"_No_, I-"

Hayner scoffed beside me, prompting an interjection from Olette. "You did _too_! We saw you and everything!"

Roxas grinned at that and proceeded with a perfect reenactment of me running away like a little girl.

"Lamer," Seifer added, giving me one of his cocky little grins.

Now, I'm not usually in a pissy mood... but what the hell. It won't hurt once every year. So I plastered a sweet innocent smile on my face (I'm pretty damn good at doing that) and turned to Axel, who was glaring at Seifer and probably wishing for all his organs to spontaneously combust. "Seifer punched Roxas in the neck."

I got three very... prompt responses.

A screeching "WHAT?!" from Axel.

A raised eyebrow from Roxas.

And an "ohshit" from Seifer.

Needless to say, I had barely turned around before Axel launched himself at the taller blonde, sending them both flying into the grass. I smirked in triumph as I made my way up the front steps, listening to the shouts and yelps and i'll-fucking-kill-you's fade behind me.

Sora-1

Shitty Friends-0

I avoided going to my locker, hoping to also avoid anymore sightings of Riku, but really, who was I kidding? I had homeroom with the guy. Unfortunately, L came right after K. And fortunately, M came after L. Hopefully... Kairi would keep him company.

Ugh.

The moment I stuck my head through my homeroom doorway, my gaze landed on Riku and Kairi conversing together on the other side of the room with a few other classmates. I made my way to the back of the room before I could be noticed and waited for Axel and Roxas. Despite not wanting to be noticed, I kept sneaking glances at Riku. He was still pale, but not that awful, sickly pale he had aquired at the beginning of highschool. He'd gotten taller and even grew his hair out a bit (what a girl, seriously), which, as much as I hate to admit it, looked really good on him. And just when I was ogling at his hair and trying to count the number of layers, he turned around and caught my eye.

I _froze_.

I am telling you now that I am not lying when I though my heart stopped momentarily.

Without even thinking it over, I leapt out of my desk and threw myself at the floor.

...Yes, I know it was a dumb idea. Shut up.

"Is there... something I should know about?"

I flinched and sucked in a sharp breath, slowly lifting my head until a pair of checkered Vans came into view. I blew out a sigh of relief and sat up to find Roxas and Axel standing in front of me with very disturbed looks on their faces.

Oh, give me a break.

"Nice bruise, Ax," I observed, eyeing his purple cheek with a grin.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Axel snapped, slumping down in the seat next to mine and grumbling irritably under his breath. Roxas grabbed me by the arm and helped me to my feet before taking a seat on Axel's unprotesting lap.

Honestly, my brother can be denser than a rock. Just don't tell him I said that or he'll superglue me to my seat again.

"Riku's been staring at you for, like, the past two minutes, you realize this, right?" he asked, nodding his head towards the silver headed figure behind me. Shiva, I could practically _feel_ his eyes boring in to the back of my head.

"No duh, Captain Obvious," I mumbled, slinking into my seat and trying to slouch as low as possible without ending up under the table. The homeroom teacher started taking rolecall and I willed my name to disappear from the list.

"Dude, really," Axel scoffed in exasperation. He leaned forward, resting his chin on Roxas's shoulder and gave me a pointed look. "What, you just gonna avoid him for the rest of the year?"

"I sure as hell can try," I hissed, trying to ignore Riku's call of _here_ when his last name was called.

Little did I know... I had a _long_ day ahead of me.

x.x.x

**POV's will change in each chapter (or whenever I feel like it) between sora and 3rd pov. Because I get bored real easy and like to experiment.**

**For your sole information, here are some character relations/names...**

**Sora and Roxas are twins, parentals are Squall and Rin (:D), Roxas is dating Seifer, Axel is in love with Roxas and is Kairi's twin with the last name of Monroe, Riku's last name is Karada hence why they are all in the same homeroom.. blah.. blah.. blah.. **

**...Review? :3**

**...Please? D:**


	2. give this imagery back

**EDIT: Just caught some typos...**

**I basically just giggled my through this whole chapter. Gets a teeny bit angsty towards the middle and then turns right back around. Hopefully I caught all the typos... 3rd POV this time.**

**Disclaimer:**** Beware. Down there be smut.**

x.x.x

**. b e t t e r t o g e t h e r .**

_.give this imagery back._

.x.

The Leonhart family, like many others, was pretty tightknit. It may not have turned out that way if Squall decided to be a stubborn little bitch and brood over every second of his past, but he got over it. We have Rinoa to thank for that. Anyway, considering their closeness, the family developed a sort of... sixth sense, around the time Sora and Roxas were toddlers. At first, it was only between Squall and Rinoa, but as the boys grew, it passed on to Roxas. The only reason Sora never aquired this "sixth sense" was because he was the cause of it. All in all, the boy was a good person. He was kind, honest, sugar personified. And when something was wrong, _everyone_ knew.

x.x.x

As soon as their first day of school was over, Roxas fled home before he got caught up in any more of Sora's drama. All he wanted to do was sit on the living room floor and play Persona 4 without Seifer snickering at him every time his character died. The smallest blonde paused the game and turned around, just about ready to sock Seifer in the stomach when he paused mid-punch, eyes growing just a smidge wider.

"My Sora senses are tingling."

"...Oh, Gaia, not this again," Seifer groaned, letting the back of his head fall against the couch.

Minutes later, just as Roxas had predicted, the front door slammed open and a forlorn Sora trudged inside, looking as if the universe itself had greatly wronged him.

"Do you _know_ how hard it is to avoid someone who's in _every_ one of your classes?" he moaned miserably, letting his bag drop carelessly to the floor.

Seifer snorted, regarding the brunette with an amused smirk. "Since when'd you become such a girl?"

"Yeah, you've never, uh... been so bothered by him before," Roxas said, waving his controller in a vague attempt to summarize.

Sora snorted and shook his head, folding his arms over his chest. "Yeah? Shows how much you know."

Roxas bristled angrily at his brother's tone and opened his mouth to snap back when the sound of his cell cut him off.

_-never seen nobody move the way she did and she did and she does and she'll do it again..._

Roxas jerked in surprise and grabbed his Sidekick off the floor, flipping it open with practiced ease. "What, what, Axel? ...Fine, _hello_."

Sora and Seifer simultaneously raised their brows at each other, shaking their heads. Honestly, Sora sometimes worried about his brother's capability to understand the world around him. He could just imagine Axel's face right now and hoped that there weren't any small, flammable animals nearby.

"_Now_? ...No, it's fine. What are you talking about? ...I do _not_ have an attitude, _you're_ the one assuming things out of nowhere. ...I did _not_ snap at you! Fine! Whatever, _bye_."

The blonde vigorously snapped his phone shut, dropping it back down on the carpet before reaching for his discarded controller. "Axel said Kai wants to drag us all to the beach for tonight's meteor shower. You guys wanna go?"

Sora sighed and cocked a hand on his hip, dragging his other one through his hair. "I... I guess so," he muttered uncertainly, going through the probabilities that Riku would show up.

Roxas grinned and tilted his head back, regarding Seifer with quirked eyebrows. "How about you?"

"I don't care."

"What's wrong?"

"Your _face_."

"Oooh, someone's grumpy," Roxas sang, his grin stretching farther over his features. He dropped his controller and crawled up on the couch, swinging one of his legs over Seifer's hips so that he was straddling the taller blonde.

"..._Jenova_, get a room!" Sora groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes before his mind was stained any further.

Roxas glanced over his shoulder with an arched eyebrow at his twin, smirking when Seifer pressed his lips to his pulse point. "...Dude, you really need to get laid."

Sora sputtered indignantly, yanking off one of his shoes and nailing Roxas in the ass with it. "_E-excuse_ me...?!"

"I can't believe you just did that."

"I can't believe you almost made out on the _couch_. We _sit_ there!"

"Aren't you a saint," Seifer muttered sardonically.

"Just go, Sora, we'll come in a bit-oh, ha ha, very mature..." Roxas rolled his eyes at Seifer, who'd just burst into snickers at his choice of words.

Sora scrunched his nose in disturbance and crept forward, quickly grabbing his shoe and slipping it on before running out the door. Really, it wasn't like he disapproved... he just didn't get it. It was just one of those things in life that he couldn't wrap his mind around. He smiled to himself and shook his head, figuring there were other things to think about than the number of times those two had sex for every duration of their waking moments together.

...Ew. Unneeded mental images.

Sora shook those thoughts out of his head, making his way down the length of the sand-dollar littered beach. Sometimes, it was convenient living right next to the ocean. Of course, it didn't help that the beach sometimes brought back unwanted memories, like the day he'd been out with Riku and Kairi and the idiots had suggested smacking a watermelon open with a stick. Needless, to say, Riku had accidentally "missed" and whacked Sora right in the balls.

It hadn't been a fun day.

A grimace crossed Sora's face at the memory and he tried to block it out as soon as he saw his group of friends sitting a few yards away around a newly started bonfire. He smiled, visibly relaxing at the sight, and ran over, sidestepping sunset drenched waves as they crawled along the shore.

"Yo, Sora, where's Rox?" Axel asked the moment the brunette came over.

Sora grinned nervously, running an awkward hand through his brown spikes. "Er... uh... he's kinda tied up with Seifer... at the moment."

Axel groaned and slumped back into the sand, throwing an arm over his eyes with a steady stream of curses flowing from his mouth. "_Why_ did you tell me that?" he moaned while Selphie, Olette and Yuffie cooed sympathetically, patting him on the head.

"Because you asked?" Sora offered, sinking into a spot in the sand by the redhead.

Hayner snorted beside him, shaking his head. "Sometimes, I'm not sure who to punch, Roxas, Seifer, or Axel."

"Why don't you just punch _yourself_?"

"...Very funny, Axel."

Sora chuckled and glanced around at the group, doing a mental inventory of who was there. Cloud, Tifa and Zack were on the opposite side of the bonfire, wrestling over a bag of marshmallows. Behind them, Demyx was pulling a miffed looking Zexion through the sand, laughing about something and looping his fingers through the shorter teen's. Demyx's sister, a bikini clad Rikku, followed the two, giggling with amusement.

"So... where's Kairi," Sora asked, eyebrows drawing together with confusion. "She invited like, half our grade and then some but didn't show up herself?"

Axel shrugged and sat up, brushing the sand out of his scarlet spikes. "She said she forgot something..."

Sora merely sighed in response and leaned back on his hands, digging his fingers into the warm sand. He was just grateful that Riku wasn't there.

"Ow, ow, ow, shit! Demyx, you're gonna yank out my arm-"

"Hey guys!" said blonde interrupted, plopping himself down on the sand and dragging Zexion into his lap. The shorter teen growled and squirmed to no avail, finally submitting into his boyfriend's hold. "Where's Kairi?"

"I know, right?" Sora drawled, giving Demyx a wide-eyed stare. "That's what _I_ said!"

"You talk too much anyway."

The brunette squeaked out when Rikku sat down behind him and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him close until the boy was sitting on top of her crossed legs. Sora relaxed and let out a laugh once he realized who it was.

"Don't be mean," Tifa sang, trying to bite Zack's hand as he reached for the bag of chocolates behind her. "He's very high strung today."

"That's cos Riku got out of the nuthouse!" Demyx exclaimed, hiding his grinning face in Zexion's shoulder when Sora glared at him.

"It was bound to happen," Cloud mumbled, squishing a marshmallow and a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers, which promptly crumbled in his hands. "I mean, crazy _definitely_ runs in the family..."

Zack laughed beside him, elbowing the blonde in the ribs. "Well, Seph isn't that bad. But remember Kadaj? You wouldn't leave the house for a _week_."

"...Please don't talk about it."

A burst of laughter rippled around the group, bringing a rare blush to Cloud's cheeks. He ducked his head, trying to hide behind his bangs and poked that the demolished s'more in his hand. "You'd be scared too if the little weirdo left a _dead_ _bird_ on your front steps..."

"S-scared?" Tifa echoed incredulously, exploding into waves of uncontrollable giggles. "C-cloud... you were _crying_ when you called me!"

Selphie and Olette burst out laughing, but Yuffie didn't seem too amused. "Yeah, Cloudster, and _I_ had to get rid of it for you," she cut in, casting the blonde a glare that blatantly said he still owed her a hefty amount of his life savings for completing the task.

Sora was suddenly taken over with roars of laughter, burying his face in his hands and slumping against a snickering Rikku.

"...One, I don't owe you anything. Two, I did not _cry_. And three, shut up, Sora!" Cloud grabbed the nearest piece of driftwood and chucked it at the brunette's forehead, where it connected with a disturbingly loud _thump_.

"Ow! Shit! Fuck you, Strife!"

"Wow, Sora, when'd you come by such a dirty mouth?"

The brunette froze momentarily, blue eyes fixating themselves on the roaring fire while everyone around him greeted the newcomers with a chorus of "hey"s. Sora cut his eyes down to the sand, only acutely aware of how warm his face got. Though, of course, he was hoping that it was only because he was sitting so close to the fire.

"C'mon, Leonhart, what's with the cold shoulder?" said a smooth a deep voice, sending (hot) chills rippling down Sora's spine like an earthquake vibration. He had no doubts that Rikku had felt that and wondered if Riku would leave him alone if he turned around and started making out with her. It wasn't a flawless plan, considering Demyx would probably shank him for snogging his sister but... it had potential.

Meanwhile, the group had fallen into an awkward silence from Sora's lack of response, drawing an even more awkward cough from Riku.

"Sora? Can I talk to you? Alone, maybe?"

Never one for awkwardness, Hayner broke the spell with an immature "_oooooh_!" and Olette burst into snickers beside him.

Sora sighed heavily and resigned himself to his fate. He figured he'd have to do this at some point, and if it wasn't now, then he'd only be able to survive a few minutes longer before getting shoved off by Rikku. The girl never did posses a large amount of patience.

"Sure," Sora said finally. He plastered a smile on his face and pushed himself to his feet, immediately starting down the other length of the beach without even bothering to wait for Riku. Thankfully for him, the sun had almost set, leaving a small sliver of bright red over the horizon. He didn't want to be in Riku's company for too long.

"C'mon, Sora, what's your problem?" the silverette called, jogging to catch the brunette. Sora ignored him and continued onward until only the sound of the waves whispering their way along the shore and the crunch of sand beneath their shoes surrounded them. The bonfire disappeared from view until only the fading sunlight lit their way, the sky above sprinkled with newly-awakened stars. It would've... almost been nice to be alone with Riku like this, had he kept his mouth shut a year ago.

Sora finally came to a stop by a bent paopu tree and turned around to glare at Riku, leaning against the trunk and crossing his arms tensely over his chest. Riku stared at him for a moment and cocked his head, orange-hued bangs cascading past his eyes. A small smirk slowly curved his lips. "What's wrong? Forgot what I said before I left?"

"Unfortunately, no, I haven't," Sora snapped back, narrowing his eyes at the silverette's stare. Since when has he sounded like this?

Riku only chuckled and shook his head, his smirk melting into a soft smile. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Because you're _stupid_."

"Ouch, Sora. When'd you become so _mean_?" Riku's smile grew as he took a step closer to the younger boy, who stood rooted to the spot as he tried to glare him down.

"I don't know, I mean, _you've_ been doing it all your life. I just learned from the best."

Riku breathed out a laugh through his nose and took another step until he was so close to Sora that their chests brushed together every time they breathed. "You could never hold a grudge."

"Yeah, well, I'm trying really hard this time," Sora grit out, forcing himself to maintain eye contact.

Since when were Riku's eyes such a pretty color of aqua? They looked like the shallows of the ocean on a bright day-

"Really? I think you're trying _too_ hard," Riku muttered, voice soft like velvet. He lifted a hand and cupped it against Sora's cheek, not missing the way the boy flinched at the touch. His smile instantly fell away, like water sliding down a windowpane. "...I wasn't lying when I told you how I felt about you."

Sora narrowed his eyes, sapphire orbs darkening to match the navy blue of the sky above. He tried to jerk away, but Riku's other arm had somehow found its way around his waist. "How could you do that to her?" he hissed out, twisting his head away from Riku's hand. "She _loved_ you, dammit!"

"She knows I never felt that way about her."

"Then why did you let _her_ feel that way about _you_?!"

"Would you rather I stayed with her and continued to pretend?"

"...No, but I'd _rather_ that you stayed away from me."

"Why?" Riku demanded, hooking his fingers around Sora's jaw (was the boy really that delicate?) and forcing the boy to look at him. "Why is it so wrong? Anyone else would be just fine, right?"

Sora grit his teeth, staring up at Riku with steely eyes. No. It wasn't wrong to feel a certain way about a person. But it was wrong to use people, to treat them unfairly, and Sora was in no way, shape, or form happy with the way Riku had treated him or left Kairi, despite the fact that the girl seemed to be fine. "Well, it's hard to like someone when they were a _jerk_ to you for-"

"What, even a chance is out of the question? Can't we at least talk? Why won't you-"

"Because I don't want to talk to you anymore!" Sora snarled (was that really him?) (was this really his voice?), snapping his head away and trying to pretend that he hadn't seen the hurt flash past Riku's face. "You've been fucking up my life for the past _twelve years_!" His voice climbed and escalated until it cracked, one hand curling into a fist and lashing out against Riku's chest in a desperate attempt to push him away.

"But I-"

"I don't _care_, okay?! I don't give a chocobo's _tail feathers_ what you think about me-" (this wasn't him, it couldn't be) (he didn't talk like this) He couldn't stop himself, and the scary part was that he wanted to, Gaia, did he want to, but he'd been waiting so long to finally explode, feel the guilty pleasure of hurting _Riku_ for once, just once (once too many times). "Because I'm just your _plaything_ and I have been ever since I met you! You don't give a shit about me and you don't give a shit about Kairi!"

Riku looked as though he'd been smacked in the face, aqua orbs wide and mouth hanging open in shock. He shook his head, as though Sora's words were flitting around him and clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "That's not true, Sora, and you know-"

"I don't _care_!" Sora shouted out, his breath following him with a gasp. "I don't... I don't care," he breathed out, shutting his eyes because he didn't want to see the expression on Riku's face anymore. "So... please. Just leave me alone." He pulled out of Riku's slackened grip and brushed past him, wanting nothing more than to go home and curl up in bed.

When he finally got back, Kairi eyed him nervously, asking "Where's Riku? Are you okay? We heard shouting..."

"Yeah, dude, you totally don't look well," Demyx observed, and Sora shifted uncomfortably under his green gaze, starting to feel annoyed.

"Really? No fucking way."

"Okay, when you'd get a Roxas-complex?" Cloud spoke up, quirking a surprised eyebrow at the brunette. "And become such an asshole?"

"..._Asshole_?! _I'm_ the asshole?!"

"Yeah, just a bit? Whatever bullshit is going on with you and Riku better stop because this is getting annoy-"

"Just lay off."

"Oh, _sorry_. I wasn't informed that it was your time of the month."

"Cloud, really... shut up. The kid looks like he's going to pop a vein," Tifa warned, but the blonde was caught up in a glaring match with Sora and didn't even hear her. Everyone knew that despite Cloud's normally nice and bashful attitude, he had no patience for those that went throwing negatives around at people and Sora was no exception.

Sora took a deep breath, eyes flickering to something behind Cloud's shoulder. "Y-yeah well... ZACK, CLOUD'S BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU SINCE THE FOURTH GRADE."

"..."

An unsettling silence wrapped itself around the group as all eyes rounded on a red-faced Cloud, including Zack's.

"...I am going to _kill_ you, Sora. Then I'm going to kill you again, throw you to the _sharks_, fish you out, and _burn_ the remains."

Sora swallowed thickly, frozen in place by Cloud blazingly angry glare as he belatedly realized the consequences of what he'd just blurted. A growl issued from somewhere deep in Cloud's throat as the blonde suddenly exploded into motion, lunging for Sora. The brunette screamed out and ducked away, his heart leaping when he felt Cloud's fingertips brush against the tips of his spikes. Sora burst into a sprint, kicking up sand and not daring to look behind him.

The street was quiet, as most of the neighbors had left for the beach to watch the meteor shower, and was lit by the occasional street lamp. Sora finally made it to his front yard, collapsing in the soft grass. His hands clutched at the stitches in his sides, chest heaving desperately for (Riku) air. The air above him whizzed softly, signaling the start of the shower, and Sora glanced up, watching for a moment as the stars cut the sky.

"F-fuck... what's wrong with me..." Sora breathed out, his voice drowned out by the melodic chirping of crickets. He allowed himself to fall back into the grass, tangling his hand in his spikes. Melting in with the sound of the crickets was the ocean, water rushing over sand and pebbles and dragging memories of days spent with Riku along. And Sora didn't want to think about Riku because thinking about the silverette made him feel sick.

Once he'd gained his breathing back, he slowly climbed back on his feet, brushing the sand and grass off his shorts. One more finger-combing of his hair and Sora stepped through the front door, only to be assaulted by his waiting twin, wearing only a hastily thrown on pair of jeans and clutching his Sidekick in his hand.

"Dude, what is your fucking _problem_?" the blonde hissed, jabbing an angry finger at Sora's chest. "Kairi just called me, in _tears_, saying that you screamed at Riku, snapped at Demyx and... and 'ruined Cloud's life,' or something like that! What the hell?!"

"There's no problem with me!" Sora protested sharply, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Riku's the one who-"

"Now you listen here Sora," Roxas cut off, his voice dropping down until it was low and soft, laced with threats. "You're better than this. You don't snap, and scream, and get an attitude. That's _my_ job. Everyone is worried about you so cut the crap and just tell me what's wrong."

Sora grimaced under Roxas's glare, his own glare wilting and his shoulders slumping down in defeat. There was no way he would actually tell Roxas what happened between him and Riku one year ago, because it was his problem to deal with, but... "Nothing. Riku showed up and wanted to talk to me but we got into an argument over nothing and then Demyx told me I looked like I wasn't feeling well and I snapped at him and Cloud told me to get my act together and by that time I was just so annoyed with everyone..."

"...Sora, _what did you say_?"

Sora bit his lip, guiltily averting his eyes to the floor. And just like that, the brunette fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands, breaking down into sobs. "F-fuck...! I told Z-Zack and now Cloud's going to _h-hate_ me and and h-hunt me down and beat me into a b-bloody pulp and drag my s-sorry carcass into the _jungle_ so the a-animals can _eat me_...!"

"You didn't!"

"I did!"

"Shit!" Roxas cursed profoundly, practically tearing his hands through his hair. "Do you understand what you've just done?! You've just ripped the very fabric of the _universe_, you idiot!"

"I _know_!" Sora wailed, frustrated tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.

"Shitshitshit!" Roxas fumbled for his phone and hit the speed dial for Cloud.

...No answer.

Roxas slowly turned around and regarded Sora with wide eyes, which immediately made the brunette stop crying. "Oh, Shiva, I've KILLED HIM! WHAT IF ZACK RAN AFTER HIM AND-AND-"

"What the _fuck_ are you two _wailing_ about?!"

Roxas and Sora's heads shot up only to find Seifer advancing threateningly on them from down the hall. He looked like he'd just woken up, eyes dark and blonde hair messed up in random places. And he did not look happy at all.

"Wailing?" Roxas echoed incredulously, his voice high and thin. "Sora just might have ruined Cloud's life and you think we're _wailing_?"

Seifer stared blankly at the pair before turning his gaze on Roxas. "...I told you we should've gone."

"Oh, shut up, rapist," Roxas snapped, pushing Talk on his phone and lifting it back up to his ear. "Kairi? Huh... yeah, he's here, but listen... what? No, I don't want to talk to Axel-DAMMIT, KAIRI, WHERE'S STRIFE?!" Sora chewed nervously on his lower lip and watched intensely as Roxas's face went from pissed to worried to suspicious in the matter of moments. "... Oh, _really_? ...Yeah. Okay. See you tomorrow, then." The blonde sighed heavily and slid his phone shut, slipping it into his back pocket. "So Cloud chased after you-"

"I know that already!"

"-and Zack went after him."

"...Jenova, he's going to kill him. M-maybe... we should run by his house?"

"Why, so Cloud can kill _you_ if he gets the chance?"

Seifer shook his head in turned his attention to the open door behind Sora. A small frown passed his lips as he cocked his head slightly, eyebrows drawing together in concentration. "...Did you guys just... hear a scream?"

Sora whimpered pathetically, digging his fingers deep into his spikes. "Oh no, I'll never be able to sleep again..."

Seifer grinned widely and clapped his hand on top of the brunette's head, ruffling his hair. "Good job. You've just ruined Strife's life."

"...Go to hell!"

x.x.x

A few blocks up the street, in the Strife household, the aforementioned blonde arched off his bed with a scream, face flushed and skin beaded with sweat as the dark haired figure above him rocked forward with an impish grin.

"Ngh... fuck... Z-Zack!" Cloud gasped out, hands shooting up to carve red trails down Zack's moonlit back as his sweet spot was assaulted over and over again. Breaths escaped in hot puffs of air, sweat sliding and dripping down their skin as their hips rolled together. The blonde sucked down another cry as a pair of hot lips descended on his neck, brushing past every sensitive spot they found.

Never in a million years did Cloud think that when Zack ran after him, he would chase him down to his house, pin him against the front door, and proceed to kiss him silly. Or fuck him five ways from Friday.

"C'mon, Chocobo... don't stay quiet," Zack breathed out, nipping sharply at the blonde's clavicle and then sweeping his tongue over the mark he'd made.

Cloud shuddered and shoved at the other teen's shoulders, bristling at the sound of his nickname. "C-cut that out!" he snapped, not liking the look on the raven's face _one bit_ when he glanced up, blue eyes glinting mischievously under his dark bangs.

"Alright, fine," he purred, sliding his hands down Cloud's sides until they came to the blonde's hips, holding them firmly against the bed as he stopped moving.

Cloud eyes went wide and he writhed desperately against Zack's hold, pulling at his wrists and arching his back. "F-fuck, Zack...! Move, you b-bastard!"

"You told me to cut it out... so I did." Zack smirked down at the furious look on Cloud's face, knowing that he wouldn't be able to break free. Chocobo was strong... but not as strong as him.

"Zack, if you don't move, I hope you _pray_ to Shiv-_ah_...!" Cloud tensed as a loud, shaken moan passed his lips and Zack grinned above him, leaning forward into another long, hard thrust. The pace picked up again right after and Cloud cried out when one of the raven's hands wrapped around his aching heat, bring them both teetering over the edge. Cloud stared blankly at the ceiling with lust-dark eyes, hardly aware of his own name being whispered through the haze of pleasure that clouded his mind.

"Z... _Za-ck_...! I... _unh_!" The blonde threw his head back as heat suddenly filled him, his damp bangs falling away from his face from the movement. He distinctly heard Zack moaning his name as the almost-painful coil of heat in his abdomen released, sending him riding out his orgasm with stars dancing in his vision.

Finally spent, Cloud slumped into the pillows as nothing more than a shuddering, panting mess. A soft groan left him when Zack gently pulled out of his body and rolled off to the side.

"Ha... what... to rough for ya?"

Cloud forced his blue eyes open, tilting his head to the side so he could glare half-heartedly at the black-haired teen beside him. "Oh, no..." he managed out airily, waving his hand for emphasis. "I mean... I think my head... cracked open on the headboard at some point... but I should be fine..."

Zack laughed softly under his breath and the sound sent pleasant shivers up Cloud's spine.

"Shut up, you..."

"Quit complaining, Spike. It's not like I hunted you down and kicked your ass or anything."

"...Sora probably thinks you killed me."

"He probably thinks you're going to haunt him in his sleep."

Cloud grinned at the thought of the panicking brunette. Little jerk deserved it, even if his little outburst _did_ get him in bed with his best friend. Cloud breathed out an exhausted sigh and rolled over, squirming himself into Zack's arms and trying to ignore the pain shooting up his spine. "Whatever. He doesn't have to know until tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? As in, you're actually planning on going to school tomorrow?" Zack snorted and buried his face in Cloud's damp spikes, trying to stifle his laughter.

"Yeah? I'd look like an idiot if I skipped out on only the second day of school."

"...Cloud, your ass is going be soooooore."

"And _whose_ fault is that? _Yours_, Zack."

"You bet your sweet, sore ass it's my fault."

Cloud flushed to the roots of his hair and yanked the sheets over his head, muttering "asshole" under his breath. Of course, he didn't resist when Zack pulled him closer, smoothing a hand down his back.

"Love you, too.... dumbass."

"Hey!"

x.x.x

**REVIEW IF YOU SAW THAT BABY COMING! Lol, sorrryyy, I was in epix need of some cloudzack. and smut. so I PUT THE TWO TOGETHER AINT I SMART?!**

**REVIEW IF YOU LOLED AT LEAST ONCE.**

**REVIEW IF YOU THOUGHT RIKU WAS GONNA MAKE OUT WITH SORA.**

**REVIEW FOR THE SAKE OF REVIEWING ((cries))**

**...On another note, Cloud is NOT AN EMO LITTLE FUCK, NOR IS ROXAS. I was recently pissed off about something someone said about mine and my friend's roleplay, how they were totally OOC. **

**... WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IT'S FANFICTION. I CAN WRITE THEM HOWEVER THE HELL I WANT AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, GO READ SOMETHING ELSE, OR WRITE IT YOURSELF.**

**Crisis Core Cloud is the best and the cutest D: And Roxas was already angsty to begin with, poor baby. And Sora has every right to bitch, I'm surprised he hasn't done it already. ...What he did in game two wasn't bitchy enough.**

**So I will now rephrase was they said :3 "Your Cloud and Roxas are so OOC and epically awesome that it makes my heart bleed."**

**...much bettar : DDD  
**

**Beta'd by ****xcassedega**** because... well. No one else was there to beta. SO THANK YOU.**


	3. i remember when

**...it's been a while. I don't really have much to say except that I've been busy with school and I hope you guys are still out there and enjoy this chapter X3**

x.x.x

**. b e t t e r t o g e t h e r .**

.x.

_i remember when you and me, oh, how we used to be, just good friends_

Kairi stared openly at me as I dropped into the seat beside her. I didn't really need to see her expression to know what I looked like. The word _raccoon_ would be a painful understatement. Maybe a raccoon with a bird's nest on its head would be a bit more appropriate... Did you know that when I walked into the kitchen this morning, my dad dropped his coffee mug? Just to give you a _basic fucking idea of what I looked like._ My _dad_, Squall fucking Leonhart, _dropped_ his coffee mug. And that compared in _no_ way to how I felt. Ever get those mornings where you wake up asking yourself the number of the that train?

Yeah, I know. I'm barely awake and already I'm bitching to you like you're my therapist. By the way, did you know that if you split up the word therapist, you get _the rapist_? Little fun fact for ya.

"Wow, Sora! You look awful!"

I could only deadpan and blink slowly in response as the words sank in. "...Thanks. I really _love_ hearing that."

Kairi scoffed and rolled her eyes towards the window and effectively away from me. "Personally, I think you deserved it, after last night," I heard her say quietly, and the way she said it made me squirm in my seat. "...But whatever. I don't want to talk about it."

"Good," I grumbled, slouching sulkily in my seat. What did she know anyway? "Neither do I."

"You really hurt his feelings, y'know."

"I thought you _didn't want to talk about it_," I mocked back. Don't get me wrong, I felt like a dick, but driving an already stressed Sora into a bad mood at eight in the morning was a bad idea. And here you thought I was all sunshine and daisies, didn't you?

I dragged a hand tiredly over my face and settled into my seat, hoping for a quick nap, seeing the fact that Kairi refused to even look in my direction now. ...Maybe Cloud was right. Maybe I _was_ developing a Roxas-complex.

... Or maybe chocobos were flying out of my pants.

I mean, she runs off to do _je ne sais quoi_ (bit of French for you, take _that_, Karada) with Riku, and then runs back to _me_ when he goes off to the nuthouse. In retrospect, I should've just brushed her off. But I didn't. Because she's still my best friend. Because she didn't _intentionally_ try to hurt me. Because I felt bad that she had to get caught up in all of this bullshit.

He cut it off with her just out of the blue and then came to tell me how he _felt about me_. And he expected me to believe that Kairi was _okay_ with it just because she _knew_ he didn't feel the same way about her? She was practically being used! Experimented with! As if Riku really expected me not to care. Not to feel _bloody_ pissed off when he told me that he was apparently in love with me the entire time. I mean, kudos to him for _not staying with her and continuing to pretend_ but where's my fucking say in this? Was I supposed to let him drop... _our_ friend like a fly just to jump onto me just like that?

Tell me I'm wrong in thinking this way. Go ahead. I dare you.

And I couldn't reject Kairi after that. Not just because of the guilt, or because she was still my friend... but also because it's not in my nature. I love her, I really do, and I would hate to see the mess I'd create by telling her that she-that_ we_-were part of Riku's sick joke. It's all life has been with this guy around. A silly, stupid joke. It'd be better if she... if she didn't know about it. And if anyone should tell her, it should be Riku.

So all I can do now is let her steam herself out and go back to being in the dark while I sew my mouth shut with metal wires and duct tape.

I really wish that none of this had to happen.

x.x.x

Kairi didn't even wait for me when we got off the bus. She just hurried on inside without a look in my direction, leaving me with a mixed feeling of awkwardness and nausea.

Suddenly, a voice somewhere behind me said "Hey, what's wrong?" and I nearly popped a fucking lung when a hand landed on my shoulder. I whirled around, fists automatically raised in defense...

Only to realize it was just Roxas.

Just so you know, I'm _still_ expecting Cloud to jump me from the bushes and drag my body off to the jungle. Trust me, he's very easy to scare, but when he scares _back_... well, you better start looking for a religion and pray to _Gaia_.

"You... okay, Sora?" he asked me slowly, as though I were mentally challenged (really, the nerve of him!). One of his eyebrows was drawn up pretty high on his forehead, so I could only imagine what my facial expression looked like.

"Heheh, y-yeah," I half-lied, hoping that my nervous laugh and massively pounding heart wouldn't give me away. It was funny how while I was trying to smooth out my frayed nerves, other people walked around me, normal as ever, exchanging morning gossip and relaxing on the front steps. ...It was a bad year for me. Perhaps my astrological sign was in conflict with a planet. At this point, I just wanted to crawl into a small dark hole and fall asleep for a few weeks. Away from people, away from concerned looks, and away from Riku.

How was I supposed to believe him after all the crap he dragged me through? Did he think I was some sort of fabulous idiot?

"Don't... worry about it," I finally said, after taking in a deep breath and trying to give Roxas a reassuring smile. "I'm just a little stressed."

Roxas gave me a slow once over (where I felt like I was being scanned), and finally stepped back with a sigh when he was satisfied. "So... did you hear from Cloud yet?"

I bit my lip and shook my head, trying not to take furtive glances at my surroundings. Roxas offered no comforting words, except for an awkward scratch of his blonde spikes. Which, if you haven't noticed, isn't all that comforting.

But, lo and behold, as if on cue, I received at text message from the Cloudster himself when I sat down for homeroom.

**Normally, I would be chewing you out  
right now. But considering I just had  
the best sex of my life, I think I'll  
forgive you.  
-Cloud**

I almost choked and slumped in my seat from relief. Roxas gave me a curious look and I passed the phone to him with a shaky grin, trying not to laugh.

"...Holy SHIT!" Roxas blurted, eyes practically popping out of his head. "Are you fuc-"

"Is there something you would like to share, Mr. Leonhart?"

Roxas and I both froze in our seats, our deer in the headlights gazes traveling to the front of the room to our very scary homeroom teacher. I haven't told you about him yet, have I? Not only did this guy have the creepiest x-shaped scar over his face, but he also threw the most heart-stopping temper tantrums humanely possible. And I say temper tantrums because I can't really find another word for it. Once, Tidus (dumbly) asked him how he got that scar on his face and the fucknut threw a _chair_ at him.

We're all sure that the only reason he didn't' get fired it because he's fucking the principal.

"No, Professor Saix," we muttered in unison. Saix narrowed two golden, accusing eyes at us and I could just _feel_ myself bursting into flames of humiliation.

"...As I was saying. Leonhart?"

"H-here..."

"Lockheart?"

"Here!"

Roxas slid my cell back over my desk and punched a snickering Axel in the back of the head. I slouched in my seat in an attempt to draw less attention to myself and glanced to the other side of the room where Riku and Kairi were huddled with their foreheads pressed together, muttering under their breaths. I was hit with the sudden urge to go over there and punch Riku in the face. Bastard didn't deserve Kairi's company. Not like she was gracing me with it either, but still.

Surprisingly enough, Riku didn't bother me for the rest of the day. Or the day after that. By day three, I was starting to grow suspicious, and by day five, Kairi had completely forgotten that she was mad and started talking to me again.

"So do you want to talk about it?" she finally asked me during lunch, taking the seat next to me on the bench I was occupying outside. I could only shrug as I violently tried to shove my straw into my juice box. Kairi sighed before speaking up again. "Did you and Riku get into a fight? Y'know. Before he left? He won't say anything, you won't say anything..."

Oh ho ho. Riku didn't tell you? How incredibly rude of him. Speaking of saying anything... Say Anything is a pretty good band. Roxas listens to 'em.

"What makes you think that?" I shot back, haughtily sucking down my juice.

"Um, I don't know. You sorta yelled at him and have been giving him the cold shoulder ever since he got back."

Kairi gave me a half-smile, cocking a knowing eyebrow. I snorted and shook my head, drawing my gaze back out to the ocean. A breeze picked up and waves crashed down by the shore, bringing another childhood memory with them. This sucked. There was no way I could block Riku from my senses. "Maybe I just got sick and tired of all his shit."

"Is that all?" Kairi asked, and I could hear the skeptic tone in her voice.

"That's all," I answered curtly, glaring down at the juice in my hand. Why can't people be more like juice? Juice never wrongs anyone. Especially paopu juice. It's there to please. How many people do you know like to please like paopu do? Yeah, thought so.

Kairi let out a deep breath and crossed her legs, fingers playing with the frayed edges of her skirt. I glanced her way, biting my lip guiltily. Kairi never did anything wrong and here I was, acting like a grouch and griping all over the place. So I mustered up a small smile and reached out, placing my hand on top of hers. Her hand was warm and a bit damp from the heat, and I was instantly brought back to the day Riku, Kairi and I rowed out to our special little island and I had to hold Kairi's hand because she afraid to go into the cave at the base of the tree there.

"Really, Kai, don't worry about it," I told her, squeezing her fingers reassuringly. She smiled at me and the wind carried her laugh my way.

...If only I could've fallen in love with her.

"Okay, I guess I can drop the subject for now. You gonna eat that?"

"...You've been hanging out with Pence and Olette again, haven't you?"

x.x.x

Two weeks later, things started taking a turn for the worse. I was sitting in the back of my Astronomy class, staring out at the Marine Bio class that was taking place outside, as per usual. There was something amusing about watching Demyx trying to drag an agoraphobic Zexion into the water where Professor Ariel was conducting class.

Yeah, didn't think I _knew_ words that big, didja?

I would've given up my left kidney to be standing outside in the ocean instead of sitting in a stuffy classroom, listening to Saix ramble semi-maniacally about space clouds and black holes and _I could honestly care less_. For some odd reason, this class was a graduation requirement, and, once again, I blame the fact that my teacher is fucking the principal. And myself for not taking this stupid class earlier. My only comfort was the thought that Riku was stuck in this class too.

Anyway, I think I spaced out for a while when I was trying to figure out if those shapes in the water were dolphins or sharks... one of them looked kinda floppy... when I heard my name being called. I jerked out of my reverie, coming _this_ close to just falling out of my chair. To my surprise, the classroom was completely empty. Wow, I must've really spazzed out. When I glanced up Saix was regarding me with an expectant arched brow and I grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Sora, in the span of three weeks, you've managed to go from a 92... to a 61 average."

Wait, I didn't start out with a 100? What the fuck is that about?

I bit my lip, trying not to shrink when he gave me his disappointed teacher look. "You understand that you cannot graduate if you fail, and the only way for you to retake this class would be to stay back, correct?"

Oh dear Shiva, I can't be a senior _again_!

"I'm going to assign you a partner, and this weekend, I want him to help you complete a star chart. Depending on your quality of work, I will either raise or lower your average by one letter grade."

"_This_ weekend? _Him_? You already have someone picked out?"

Saix gave me a quizzical look, unintentionally (I think) making me feel stupid for asking. "I chose the person who posses the highest average in the class. I _do_ hope-" Oh, you do _not_ sound like you're hoping for anything good! "-that Karada does not pose as a problem."

"Riku?!" I squeaked out, blushing at the pitch of my voice.

Son of a bitch on a _toothpick_!

"Would you rather work with Miss Éclair?"

I opened my mouth to protest and then paused for a moment, quickly thinking over my options. I _could_ work with Riku, the guy whose insides I currently wanted to spontaneously combust or... Larxene, the resident _bitch_. Regardless of my choice, I wanted to punch them both, but after careful speculation, I managed to approximate Riku's bitchy level to be far lower than Larxene's. Still...

"Can I... ask someone who's already taken the class to help me?"

"And who do you propose?"

I chewed thoughtfully on my lower lip, trying to come up with a name. A lot of my friends had already taken this class, like Cloud and Zack, but even they barely managed to scrape by. The sound of the Marine Bio classes making its waking back to the building reached my ears. One voice in particular flicked on the light bulb in my head. "What about Zexion?"

Saix scowled and I was almost afraid that he would say no, but he didn't. "Very well. If Myou will agree by tomorrow, then you may work with him. If not, Riku will be your assigned partner. Now then, if you'll excuse me..."

He picked up his books along with his Starbucks mug and left the classroom without another word.

...Stupid Saix. Stupid Riku. Stupid star charts. Stupid Starbucks. I hope he chokes on a biscotti.

x.x.x

Considering the fact that Astronomy was my last class of the day (seriously, what is this? Harry Potter?), and considering the fact that Saix spent like an _hour_ lecturing me (honestly, a 61 isn't _that_ horrifying), I ended up missing my bus. Not that there was too much to worry about, I live on an _island_ (you're probably wondering why, then, do we have buses here, but I too cannot answer that question), and I had to go to Zexion's now anyway.

No one answered when I knocked, so I figured the obvious. His mom would've answered by now if she was home (Meg always leaps for the door), his sister was probably out stalking after Seifer... so Zexion was probably in there with Demyx, making out on the couch. They've been going out long enough that everyone knows their routine by now and Shiva be damned if I wasn't used to walking in on them. You sorta become immune to these things after some time, especially with Roxas for a brother.

I gave up knocking and just opened the door on my own (spare key in the flower pot) and walked into the living room where, you guessed it, Zexion and Demyx were making out on the couch. I don't even know when they found the time to change into normal clothes. But talk about impatient, huh? Demyx, sure, but I would've never pinned Zexion for a nymphomaniac before I met him. He's very good at giving the opposite first impression. He looks like your average little emo bookworm who sits in the basement all day with his face buried in a book and _god forbid_ the sunlight touches him!

...He's actually pretty cool. Walking encyclopedia/Wikipedia/dictionary aside, he always has a way to stick a sexual joke in there _somewhere_, even if you're not talking about anything sex related to begin with. It's really entertaining.

"Zexion! Zex! Hey! You!" I grabbed a cushion up off the floor, smacking them both over the head with it. "Quit eating Demyx's face! I have to talk to you!"

Unlike Demyx (who screamed in surprise and flew off the couch and nearly gave himself a concussion), Zexion hardly flinched, lifting his gaze to calmly meet mine as he sat up. "Why must you always interrupt us in way that causes Demyx to damage himself _and_ my furniture?"

"Ungh... I'm okay..." Demyx groaned from the other side of the room, gingerly picking himself up off the floor.

I huffed, ignoring him and put on my biggest pout for the two. "I'm in major trouble."

"Good! You probably deserve it!" Demyx grumbled and crawled back to the spot besides Zexion, rubbing at his fresh bruises and probably cursing me to hell and back and to hell again under his breath.

"Demyx!" I whined, stomping my foot childishly. I _knew_ they wouldn't say no to me. Hell, I was practically the one who set them up! Yep. Me. Sora. The resident matchmaker.

Zexion sighed and rubbed his temples, probably an attempt to ward off an oncoming headache. "Okay, okay. What's wrong?"

I grinned and sat down in the lounge chair opposite of them (like _hell_ was I going to sit on the couch, Gaia knows what transpired _there_) and proceeded to spill all my woes. By the time I was done, they both had twin looks of incredulity on their faces.

"... so you see, if dad finds out, he's gonna hit me with a toaster, and I really don't want to work with Riku-"

"Whoa, hold up!" Demyx cried, suddenly bolting upright on the couch. To be honest, I don't even think he had been listening... "Your dad hit you with a toaster?"

"...No. But he accidentally dropped one on me a couple of days ago and I'm not going to let him live it down."

"Nice." The blonde looked at me like a proud sibling and I felt heat creep up my face.

Zexion shook his head in disbelief and all I could do was shrug. "So you want _me_ to help you with your project?"

I nodded, straightening up with a hopeful smile on my face. "That'd be gr-"

"I can't."

"..._What_?!" I shrieked, ignoring the way my voice hit an inhuman pitch. "_Can't_? What the fuck is that supposed to _mean_?!"

"I can't," Zexion repeated, calm as could be (though I could tell he looked a bit guilty). "I would if I could, but Dem and I have a Marine Bio project we have to complete this weekend."

"..._They have__** projects**__ in that class_?!"

Demyx smiled sheepishly and averted his gaze from my glare. I just really wanted them to blow up right now. "Uh, yeah. But, like, is it really that bad?"

I started to speak and then stopped myself for a moment, thinking it over. I _was_ kind of going overboard, but... "I just really don't want to work with him."

Zexion smirked his all-knowing smirk and crossed his arms smugly, giving me the urge to walk over there and smack him across the face.

"Which _completely_ explains why you get your panties in a bunch every time you see him."

"Lies! I do not get my panties in a bunch. Boxers, on the other hand-"

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you, Zexion said with a shrug. "You're just going to have to suck it up and bear with him."

Demyx cocked his head towards me and I could feel the curiosity in his eyes bore into my skull. I knew he was going to ask it, but I really wish he hadn't.

"What happened between you two anyway? You guys were like best friends-"

"Hah, best friends in loose terms-"

"-right? And then he comes back and you're avoiding him and bitching at him..."

I cringed inwardly because it still stung to think about it. We were _supposed_ to be friends. Even if he was a bit of a cocky, stubborn douche in all of the years that I've known him, he was still my friend. But then he went and messed up. He used Kairi and then dropped her like a trashy novel and came to _me_. Tell me, how was I supposed to let him get away with it? Kairi would. She already did. But not me. No one's going to walk all over me whenever they feel like it.

"We just got into a fight," I said finally, shrugging as offhandedly as I could. "Don't worry about it."

Neither of them look convinced. I was just about getting ready to get up and leave.

"Do you... need to talk about it?" Demyx asked. He gave me such a genuine, heartfelt look of concern that I suddenly felt guilty for coming over here in the first place.

I smiled and shook my head, trying to keep myself from bursting into frustrated tears. Yep. Tons of pent up emotions right there. "No, it's okay. Please don't worry. It will... it'll work out eventually."

Demyx and Zexion exchanged one of those unreadable looks that they were so fond of using when they didn't want to say anything out loud and I tried to ignore it. I really didn't want to dump my problems on all of these people... Roxas, Kairi, Cloud, Zack... and now these two. Bit selfish of me, really. Even mom and dad were trying to pester me into talking (via cupcakes and cookies and really, were they trying to make me gain a billion pounds?).

"Okay, well, you can talk to us if you need to, okay?" Demyx flashed me a grin and I returned it, trying to look normal. I really needed to stop being such a child. It was just some silly little star project.

...With Riku.

...Tomorrow.

_Fuck_.

x.x.x

"Seifer, I don't get this."

"What do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"Sing. I want you to explain it, dumbass, what do you think?"

Ahh, such a loving relationship.

"Well, I don't get it either!"

"You're useless."

"Your face is useless."

"...Your dick is useless."

I giggled and buried my face in my chemistry book while Seifer tried to tackle Roxas off the bed. When I came home, Roxas suggested that I should do my homework with them to act as a... sort of mediator, but watching them was far more entertaining than trying to stop them. I pushed my homework away and leaned up on my elbows, resting my chin on my hands.

"Guys... you're going to roll into the desk."

Roxas let out a pathetic girlish squeak from somewhere on the floor when Seifer grabbed him around the waist, and reached for the blankets. Suddenly, I felt myself being dragged to the edge of the bed and yelped, rolling away to cling to the nearest bedpost.

...Wait.

Something wasn't right here. _Roxas and Seifer_ were rolling around on the floor... and _I_ was sitting in _Roxas's_ bed... Something about the word _bed_ made me a bit uneas-oh. _Oh_.

"...EW, OH GOD!" Realization hit me like a brick wall and I leaped off the bed, throwing myself at the nearest chair and teetering precariously on the edge.

Don't giggle at me, you'd fly too if you realized that the bed you were sitting upon had been... _defiled_. In _unmentionable_ ways.

Roxas and Seifer exchanged glances below me and burst out laughing. I was overcome with the sudden urge to grab the laptop mouse on the table behind me and chuck at one of them. Preferably in the head area. Really hard. "What?!"

"We've done it on the chair, too," Roxas said, smirking at me.

"I feel ashamed that I'm even related to you sometimes," I groaned, jumping out of the chair and dusting the seat of my pants.

"You are _such_ a prude."

"Am not! I don't care that you're having sex, I just don't want to sit where you did!"

Roxas and Seifer rolled their eyes at me (at the same time, may I add) and sat up.

"C'mon," I whined instead, waving at our Chemistry books in the air. "We're never going to get our homework done at this rate and then Professor Vexen is going to... experiment on us or something equally horrifying and turn us into creepy crawlies with yellow eyes and black wiggly things!"

"Easier said than done," Seifer scoffed, raking his fingers through his hair. "I don't even know what he's talking about half the time."

I chuckled and glanced at Roxas, who was mumbling something about "Axel" being "a dumb fucking genius." Yeah. Not quite sure how that works out.

Seifer looked at the clock and then sighed, climbing to his feet. "Okay, well, I need some coffee. Roxas, go make me some coffee."

"_What_?! But you're already up!"

"So? ... Sora, go make me some coffee."

"Dad said I'm not allowed near the kettle anymore," I chirped, dropping back down on the very edge of the bed and pulling my book closer. "...Or caffeine, while we're on the subject."

"Fine," Seifer huffed, grabbing his shirt up off the floor and throwing it back on (I'm still confused as to when that came off), and headed to the door. "Gives me a chance to check your mom out anyway."

"...Huh?"

"Nothing."

Roxas and I exchanged glances and he slowly arched a brow at me. "Did he just say what I think-"

"I don't want to know," I sighed, flipping through the pages in front of me. The more time passed, the less work I was getting done. I'm surprised I wasn't starting to go backwards yet. Still, the formulas made no sense to me. Why would _I_ need to know how many atoms were in 812 grams of_ molybdenum_. I don't even know what that _is_. And according to my periodic table, it _is_ a real element, so don't even bother asking if I made that up. Why would I make up something that I can't even pronounce? "Maybe we should call Axel up. He's good at this stuff."

Roxas shrugged and reached up, dragging his notebook and a couple of handouts off his bed. "So? Doesn't mean I have to run to him every time I need his help."

"_I_?" A grin stretched over my face as I gave Roxas a smug look. "I said _we_."

"...So?! Same thing, we're twins!"

I snorted and shook my head in disbelief, leaning back over my homework. I pretended to be working but was really watching Roxas out of the corner of my eye. There was a frustrated flush over his cheeks, a common reaction when Axel was involved in almost any way, shape or form, and he was grumbling to himself under his breath. And everyone calls _me_ dense.

I let out a tired sigh and dropped my pencil, resting my chin in my hands. "So, like, no offense, but why exactly are you dating Seifer?"

Roxas paused for a long moment, and finally glanced up, looking at me like I was stupid. "Because I _like_ him? Or, no, it might be because we share the same taste in _boxer shorts_. Pick one, genius."

_Boxer shorts, boxer shorts, boxer shorts..._

I shrugged and flipped the pages of my Chem book between my fingers, feeling a bit awkward all of a sudden. Sure, I could just go and blurt out "Axel's in love with you, you stupid, blind moron!" but I wasn't sure how well it would go down with brother dear and his... uh. Seifer. Sure, it worked with Cloud and Zack, but I just got _really_ lucky that time.

Eventually, Seifer returned, and eventually, they got distracted, so eventually, I left them there on the floor without a second glance to spare and retreated to my room. And you know how when, eventually, your head hits the pillows and nothing happens? You lie there and stare at the ceiling and twiddle your thumbs and stay like that until you finally turn over to check the time and it ends up you've been doing _nothing_ until three in the morning? Yeah. That was me. Poor little Sora, unable to fall asleep because he was worrying about facing the jerkwad. ...Guh.

I'll tell you something right now, for those of you who have experienced one of these insomniac nights. It's something everyone has done, or will eventually do. You will lie there and count sheep for a little over one hour. If, after one hour, you are not knocked out, you will immediately switch to trying to smother yourself with a pillow.

Needless to say, I skipped the counting and went straight to the suffocating.

x.x.x

I woke up to the sound of Roxas and mom singing Banana Pancakes in the kitchen, along with a two-sided feeling of guilt and impending doom.

After rolling around and sighing myself half to death, I finally decided to crawl out of bed. See, my problem is that Riku was right. I can't hold a grudge to save my life. I am emotionally incapable of being angry with someone for more than a few hours. Which is why when I really try... I just end up turning into a bitch. And so, my inability to hold grudges has finally slapped me in the face with a nice, fatty dose of guilt. Sounds appealing, am I right?

Now, I'm sure most of you are wondering why oh _why_ is Sora feeling guilty? And I'm not trying to sound like an attention-whoring _girl_ but I _did_ say that we'd be getting down on a personal level, which means I'll be spewing my girly ass drama to you quite often. I hope you've come prepared with tissue boxes.

Well... just so you know, I'm extremely guilty over yelling at Riku the way I did. I just... I don't know how to deal with him anymore.

...Gaaaaaaah.

x.x.x

So... _my_ day went better than I expected. I didn't get sick from anxiety, I didn't horribly embarrass myself, and the only words Riku said to me were "Come by eight." He didn't even look at me when he said it, eyes glued to the floor and voice emotionally flat. I could tell that I had really hurt his feelings (me? really? I had done that?) but focused on centering myself instead of worrying about his emotional state. I still had to calm _myself_ down before I could confront Riku about anything...

I was sure that on my walk home, something horrible would happen to me, as punishment for being such a crappy human being. I was sure I'd get hit by lightning. Or an ice cream truck (really, what a way to go). But the only thing that happened was dad stalking out of the door with a tired look on his face, running his fingers through his hair and mumbling something about avocados.

Yeah. My family's weird. We all eat avocados when we're upset. According to dad, mom started it.

Anyway, I stepped inside to find the cause of the problem and found Roxas sulking at the kitchen table, stabbing at empty avocado peels with a spoon.

I won't go into much detail, because, really, I'm tired and just want to get this Riku thing over with, but apparently Seifer broke up with Roxas. Happy. Fucking. Day. Unlike Roxas, Seifer was in on this whole Axel thing too. I mean, I was surprised he actually went through with it. And to be honest... I'm surprised Roxas and Seifer like each other that much in the first place. Believe me, I'm not saying it to be mean, it's just my opinion. And Seifer didn't just dump Roxas to be mean. I _knew_ he really liked Roxas. And I also knew that he was a good guy underneath that dickish exterior. It would hurt them both for a while, and then pass. I can't imagine how tough it must have been on him though.

So I comforted him, brushed his hair, cut open another avocado, and suggested that he go to Axel's.

Roxas looked at me for a moment like I'd just told him to go jump in the island's volcano, before sighing heavily and shrugging his shoulders.

"Fine," he finally agreed, and I felt a relieved little smile tugging at my lips as his mood seemed to lift lightly. "I'll go call him. Get me when dad comes back."

"Avocados?"

"Avocados."

x.x.x

By seven thirty I had some clothes, a toothbrush, and my phone packed neatly into a backpack (neat only because I got bored and went on an organizing spree), along with the star chart, rolled up and held together with one of mom's hair ties. Not only that, but between me _and_ Roxas, our replenished stock of avocados once again became nonexistent as Roxas left for Axel's, leaving me to fend for myself. I suppose it was only fair.

After all... if Axel's was where Roxas was going, I hope he's not planning on doing much _walking_ for the next week.

Oh _Gaia_. More mental images. _Why_ do I do this to myself?

Thankfully, I wasn't struck by lightning on my way to Riku's, and I managed to avoid the single ice cream truck that barreled past a stop sign, swerved onto the sidewalk to miss me by mere inches, took out a lawn gnome, and continued merrily on its way. By the time I got to his house, the near-death experience was almost nothing compared to how it felt to be standing in front of his house, its looming shadow casting over me like a thick blanket.

Ugh. I so wasn't looking forward to this. But at least we wouldn't be alone. So I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders and rang the door bell. A domino effect followed, loud enough for the whole neighbourhood to hear. It was something I had gotten used to ages ago.

"_Loz!_ Get the door!"

"Why don't _you _get it?"

"Awww, don't cry, Loz. Kadaj, go get the damn door for once!"

"Make Riku do it! It's _his_ slave at the door!"

There was a moment of silence, followed by a very faint "_Fuck you_!" from the upper floor. I rolled my eyes and reached for the handle, only to have to door open on me. First thing I saw was waves of long silver and acidic, light blue eyes. To be honest, he would've terrified me, had it not been for the mixing bowl clutched in one arm and the fact practically wanted to jump him.

"Hey, Seph!" I chirped happily, actually excited to see _this_ silverette. At least _he_ was nice.

"Ah, Sora... You're here for Riku, right?" Sephiroth quirked the smallest of smiles at me and I grinned, brushing past him into the house.

"Yessir!"

See, the Karada's have an... _interesting_ family situation. It happened quite a few years ago when their parents left for... well, pretty much a life-long honeymoon. They were kind of... y'know... in the head. They were nice as _hell_, but always over-the-top eccentric, completely crazy. Anyway, when Sephiroth turned eighteen, they dumped their other four kids in his lap and he took custody without complaint. Honestly. I think he's more responsible than anyone gives him credit for. Not only does he take care of his younger siblings, but he also helps run the Island's SOLDIER program, which is what Zack and Cloud are shooting for. The three are pretty close, even if Cloud grumbles about Seph training them so hard from time to time...

...Anyway. He also bakes cakes. Not _THE CAEK IS A LIE_ cakes, but, like, amazing, orgasm-inducing cakes. And I'm so awesome that I get them for free sometimes.

"Oh, _Sora's_ here."

I blinked and peered down the hallway, watching as Kadaj's head poked out of the living room, followed by his other two siblings. Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz were the only ones in the family who were the same exact age. Sixteen year old triplets. And the shortest of the three seemed to have an interesting infatuation with Yuffie.

"How's _Cloud_?"

...And a _weird _fascination with Strife. Please recall the dead bird incident.

I grinned somewhat sheepishly, remembering what the blonde had been up to, and scratched the back of my head. "Ah... um. He's... good."

Kadaj narrowed his eyes, seeming to consider my response for a moment, and then accepted it with a nod, stalking back into the living room with his brothers at his heels.

"Riku is upstairs," Sephiroth said, brushing past me into the kitchen. I pouted and hoisted my bag higher up on my shoulder, hesitating for a moment before walking after him.

"Need help with anything?"

Sephiroth paused and slowly glanced over his shoulder, giving me a highly suspicious look. I grinned innocently but couldn't help but squirm on the inside. I don't think Riku ever told _anyone_ what happened between us (and that much is obvious, since even _Kairi_ doesn't know), but I suddenly felt like I was being x-rayed. You know that feeling? When someone gives you this... this _look_, and you're suddenly paranoid that they know something?

He blinked slowly, as though coming out of a reverie, and shook his head. "...No, I'm fine. Why, is there something you want to talk about?"

..._Ack_.

"N-no, I'm fine, I was just wondering," I stammered out, working hard to keep my grin plastered on my face.

"You haven't been over since Riku returned. Is there something going on between you two?"

... Fucking _double_ ack.

Yeah, you can rely on _Sephiroth_ to figure something out and then say something at the worst possible moment.

Well, I couldn't just say _nothing_. He'd pull _something_ out of me eventually anyway. "No, really, everything is okay. We just got into a little fight so... things got a little awkward... But everything's fine now, really. I mean, why would I be here if I didn't want to be?"

A thin silver brow arched up in suspicion, making me want to squirm again. "Well. Point taken then." With that, Sephiroth went back to the mixing bowl that was now sitting on the counter, effectively ending the conversation. I sighed deeply and dragged myself out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. Every step felt a moment closer to impending doom.

...Okay, yeah, I know I'm overreacting, but I'm nervous here!

Riku's bedroom door was open, and I could hear the shower running in the adjacent bathroom. I let out a little sigh of relief and stepped inside, dropping my bag by the door. Him not being there gave me a few more minutes to collect myself. Yeah. I could do this. No problemo. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezey. Piece of cake with a cherry on top. A breeze. A-

"Sora?"

I let out a startled shriek, feeling myself stumble back momentarily before catching myself against the wall and whirling around. Riku was standing there in nothing but a towel (damn him), staring at me with an almost amused expression on his face (damn him again). "Were you spacing out, or just waiting for me?"

"Spacing out," I snapped back almost immediately, feeling my nerves bristle. The nerve of the guy! Avoiding me like the plague for weeks and then teasing me like everything's okay!

Riku snorted and shook his head, brushing past me to the closet.

"Jeez, put some clothes on," I drawling mockingly, drawing my gaze away from him and down to the floor. I heard him laugh, and seconds later, my vision was blocked with blue fabric. I tore the shirt off my face and chucked it to the floor, shooting a glare at Riku's back. Obviously, this fazed him in no way whatsoever, and he walked out of the closet a few minutes later dressed like a normal person. "So you're chipper today."

"And you're not."

"I'm still mad at you."

"...Of course. Why would I think otherwise? Anyway, we should probably head down to the play island and set things up."

I blinked in confusion and lifted my head towards the window, where the sun was still visibly setting over the horizon. I had to admit, Riku had a nice view from his room. "But it's still light out. And why the play island?"

Riku gave me a look, the one he got when he was on the verge of an inferiority complex (which he has pretty much all the time anyway). "Because it's darker out there, and it'll be easier to see the stars, and therefore easier for you to plot them. Duh."

Hm. Well, he had a point about that... but then that would mean I'd be stuck all alone with him on a secluded little island...

"What, too chicken to be alone with me?"

Damn Riku and his mind reading abilities.

"Psh, no," I scoffed, waving my hand dismissively. "You have a telescope, right? I didn't feel like lugging mine all the way over here."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get your stuff, Brownie." Riku shot me a normal, plain grin and returned to his closet, flicking on the lights and rummaging through his boxes. I sighed to myself and went to pull the star charts out of my backpack, trying to ignore the heat in my cheeks at the mention of my old nickname.

x.x.x

**The ending isn't typo free, I think... but I just wanted to post SOMETHING up. I've been completely swamped by school. If you see a typo, tell me : D**

**If you can't tell, Sora's in EPIC DENIAL OMFG.**


End file.
